Florida adds nearly 18K jobs in January, third-best in nation

Florida added 17,900 jobs last month, giving it the third-best total of the 50 states according to numbers released Wednesday by payroll company ADP.

The January Regional Employment Report shows a 12,800 job gain for in the service industry, with the remaining 5,100 heading to the goods-producing sector.

According to the industry breakdown, the Sunshine State added 3,800 jobs in the trade, transportation and utility sector, 3,700 jobs in professional and business services, 3,600 in mining and construction and 1,500 in manufacturing.

The January total was bested by California and Texas, both of which sport higher populations than Florida. Texas led Southern states with 22,500 jobs, putting it just jobs shy of California’s 22,700. Fellow large state New York added 9,800.

Florida’s total is about 6,000 jobs short of its December numbers, though the state did beat its January 2015 total by 2,500 jobs. Both California and Texas saw significant drops year over year, while New York showed a marginal improvement of 800 jobs.

Regionally, the South posted the biggest gains with 89,000 new jobs added in the 17 states making up the region. The 13 Western states came in a distant second with 49,000 jobs, followed by the 12 Midwestern at 39,000. The Northeast rounded out the pack with 23,000 new jobs across eight states.

The ADP Regional Employment Report is released monthly in partnership Moody’s Analytics and based on a combination of ADP’s in-house payroll data and jobs figures put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The next report, covering February, is scheduled for a March 9 release.